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On 10th Anniversary of Guantanamo’s Opening, Amnesty International, Numerous Groups and Thousands of Demonstrators to Show Their Anger at the NDAA and Guantanamo’s Status with Rallies and Demonstrations Around the Globe

For Immediate Release

On 10th Anniversary of Guantanamo’s Opening, Amnesty International, Numerous Groups and Thousands of Demonstrators to Show Their Anger at the NDAA and Guantanamo’s Status with Rallies and Demonstrations Around the Globe

Major demonstration to be held in front of the White House on January 11 at noon

WASHINGTON - Amnesty International and other organizations are organizing demonstrations around the world to mark the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at Guantánamo Bay; activists will urge President Obama to keep his promise and close the U.S.-controlled detention facility.

There will be events in Paris, Toronto, London, Brussels and Berlin, among others. In Washington, DC, there will be a marquee demonstration sponsored by Amnesty International USA, Center for Constitutional Rights, National Religious Campaign Against Torture and Witness Against Torture at Lafayette Park at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

Speakers at the rally include Colonel Morris Davis, who previously served as the chief prosecutor for the office of military commissions at Guantánamo Bay, Talat Hamdani, mother of Salman Hamdani, an emergency medical technician who died in the September 11, 2001, and Ramzi Kassem, an attorney who represents Guantanamo and Bagram detainees.

After the demonstration, participants will march down Pennsylvania Avenue and hold protests at the Department of Justice, the Capitol and the Supreme Court to dramatically demonstrate the chain of responsibility for a detention center that remains a symbol of torture and ill-treatment. Marchers will be led by 171 people in orange jumpsuits and black hoods, representing the men still detained at Guantánamo, a figure that may increase due to the detention provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), recently signed by President Obama.

In addition, Tom Parker, Amnesty International USA policy director for (counter) terrorism and human rights, is available to the media to provide in-depth analysis and strategic insights into the 10th anniversary of Guantánamo and the impact of the recent passage of the NDAA.

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues.

Further

With the toxic Bibi circus in town - cue talk of "tentacles of terror" - find hope in the extraordinary Combatants For Peace, a joint effort by weary Israeli and Palestinian veterans of violence who've laid down their guns to fight for peace. Led by a former IDF soldier and Fatah militant who both lost daughters to the conflict's "unrightable wrongs," they insist on the need to "hear what is painful" and talk to your 'enemies': "Partners for peace always exist. You only have to look for them."